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Essentially, people are entitled to a full and fair opportunity
to present their case to the decision-maker. The following examples
illustrate how a full and fair opportunity to be heard can be
denied:
- One woman was attempting to appeal the amount of her
social assistance overpayment. Each time she wrote to the
department requesting an appeal she was denied and her file
was forwarded to the Fraud Unit for investigation. The Ombudsman's
investigation established she was unfairly denied the right
to appeal her overpayment. The department subsequently agreed
to allow her to appeal to the Citizens' Appeal Panel.
- An inmate was found guilty by a disciplinary panel of
creating a disturbance or inciting other inmates to create
a disturbance and was sentenced to time in disciplinary
segregation. The inmate alleged he was not allowed to present
his case because the disciplinary panel would not let an
inmate in the cell next to him give evidence.
Full Disclosure
There must be full disclosure of the case against a person.
This includes all reports prepared by tribunal or department
staff or any other report or information that is in the possession
of the decision-maker. The following is an example of non-disclosure:
- A committee, created in a regulation, sought and obtained
an expert medical opinion which it used in making its decision
to deny benefits. The committee never provided the medical
opinion to the complainant.
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